


unscripted

by vargs



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Character Development, Confessions, M/M, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Prideshipping, Rebecca Hopkins | Rebecca Hawkins/Kaiba Mokuba - Freeform, Siblings, Side Kiddyshipping, Side Wishshipping, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 15:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5211842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vargs/pseuds/vargs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was struck with the realization that today marked the culmination of all his efforts, beginning from that fateful moment when he had requested a chess match against the former president of the Kaiba Corp weapons development company.</p><p>Everything had fallen neatly into place just as they had been planned.<br/>And that was a suddenly terrifying notion.</p><p>(or: <em>Mokuba is getting married. This is more alarming than expected.</em>)</p><p>(or: <em>Atem proves that he has grown more than Seto has in the splintered time they've shared between them. One day, Seto will even the playing field.</em>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	unscripted

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Confess](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5110664) by [tastewithouttalent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tastewithouttalent/pseuds/tastewithouttalent). 



> scenario deeply inspired by the DRRR!! fic, 'Confess,' by tastewithouttalent. if you're into shizaya, please go read it. it's perfect.

That morning, Seto awoke early as usual despite the late night he'd pulled making sure all the preparations were in place so that Mokuba wouldn't have to worry about anything except being present. First was a shower, drying his hair enough that it could air-dry the rest of the way in half an hour, then there was setting the coffeemaker while waiting for the machine to heat up. And then he had to grip the edge of the counter to steady himself as he was struck with the realization that today marked the culmination of all his efforts, beginning from that fateful moment when he had requested a chess match against the former president of the Kaiba Corp weapons development company.

Kaibaland proceeds had been going to the development and maintenance of orphanages all across the country for a decade already, with new parks across seas already in their production stages. Mokuba had graduated Magna Cum Laude this year from a prestigious university in America and was already arranging to take up the helm of Kaiba Corp's Western branch. Rebecca Hawkins—certified genius, gifted hacker, talented duelist—was admittedly a well-matched partner who wasn't entirely un-endearing after the years it took for Seto to finally warm up to her. She was plucky and she was competent. She and Mokuba were working on a new project involving alternate-reality and interactive entertainment that may very well see a place in future Kaiba Corp products.

And perhaps most importantly, Mokuba was happy. There had not been any nightmares that his little brother had needed to be protected from for a long time. The dreams they had discussed when they had been alone with only each other in that orphanage so many years ago had been achieved.

Everything had fallen neatly into place just as they had been planned.

And that was a suddenly terrifying notion.

The ringing of his mobile pulled Seto out of his... moment. Coffee would be done by the time he got back. He stepped back toward the bed, picking up his personal phone from the bed stand and pulling his formal attire for the day off the hanger in the closet and onto his bed in the same instance. Efficiency was a great virtue. 

"So it _is_ actually possible for you to be up this early," Seto said by way of greeting, the phone clutched between his ear and shoulder as he shrugged on a dress shirt over the other shoulder. Even without knowing how to control his tone over the phone, it was easy enough to fall back into rote conversation. The realization wasn't forgotten, but could be ignored.

"Oh, be quiet," came Atem's expected response from the other end. "It happens. And I'm calling because Yugi reminded me to. Now I can say I did."

Having finished buttoning the shirt, Seto tucked the end into slacks he'd already donned after his shower, looping a belt around. The coat was on another hanger. Seto left it there for now as swept back out to where the coffeemaker was sounding for his attention.

"And?" Impatient and exasperated, but Seto knew this response of his was just as expected in this game they played.

"Open the door," Atem replied easily, undeterred. Right on cue, there were two sharp knocks. How incredibly inopportune.

"No."

"Seto—" Then he hung up. Seto took his time pouring his cup of coffee and adding just a small fraction of creamer. Then he retrieved a second mug and poured the rest in, black, took both steaming cups to the table, and pulled out a chair. 

Seto estimated he had maybe five minutes.

The morning newspaper was sitting where he had put it on the edge of the table when he had brought it in from where it was hanging on the doorknob as per his request to the hotel staff, but he was too distracted by his thoughts to concentrate on it. He pulled the paper before himself anyway and flipped to an arbitrary page, downing a gulp of scalding coffee, staring at headlines and stock numbers without any of them coming through to him.

Approximately five minutes later, there was the sound of a keycard being inserted into the door before it was unlocked with a click.

"My apologies, Kaiba-sama." Isono, poking his head briefly into the doorway, before Atem strode past him, looking annoyed.

Seto waved a dismissive hand and the door shut. He spared a glance at the King of Games standing in his hotel suite who was currently raising a questioning eyebrow at him. Atem hadn't bothered to change into formal attire yet. While both Yugi and Atem shared an affinity for leather, once Atem had started discovering the modern fashion world on his own, his style had thankfully changed to be less like Yugi's, though unfortunately it had also adopted a flare for patterns. Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs were apparently fond of colors.

"Well?" Seto prompted when it became clear that Atem expected him to explain why he had to go find Isono just to let him in when Seto could have easily just opened the door for him. They might have grown past making mountainous arguments of most molehill-sized things, but both of them were men who were unlikely to let things go without some sort of acknowledgement. 

But that was something Seto was not ready to explain yet. Five minutes hadn't been enough. Old habits died hard and Seto fell back into his age-old method of bulldozing past problems with mulish anger until he was ready to face them. Perhaps if this had been about something less important, less _monumental_.

"What was it that was so important that you actually roused yourself out of bed at this hour to personally come tell me?"

Atem reacted like clockwork, sliding towards angry rather than just annoyed at the deliberate disregard. This was the gradual start of all the ways their disagreements usually escalated into arguments, into fights. It was idiotic. Seto could already see the path their words would take until it turned into another shouting match. Who knew how many times that had happened since they'd started this thing they had going between them? 

But it seemed at least one of them was able to consider what day it was today, because Atem took a visible breath instead of launching straight into an accusation. He took the seat across from him and Seto didn't need to look at him directly to know the other man was forcing the anger down with the calm rationality that had made him so famous in the dueling world.

Seto was both secretly appreciative that Atem was willing to take the blow today to keep from souring Mokuba's day and frustrated that there wasn't going to be an outlet for him to purge whatever troubling thoughts he had woken up to.

"... I wanted to inform you about what happened last night after you left," Atem began, tone carefully controlled. "I thought you might want to know that nothing of consequence happened that requires your fixing, is all."

As soon as he noticed the extra mug on the table though, he gave a put-upon sigh, rolled his eyes ( _millenia-year-old pharaoh, rolling his eyes like a child, ha_ ), and reached for the cup that was clearly meant for him. It seemed easier for him to continue without sounding antagonizing afterward. 

"Mokuba is fine, by the way. He's probably still sleeping. Yugi made sure to leave aspirin for him in case of a hangover. We pulled straws and I made sure everyone got back to the hotel. So you don't have to worry about anyone not showing up later today."

The King of Games lost pulling straws? Now that was intriguing enough to momentarily pull Seto out of his darkly contemplative mood.

"Did you finally lose to someone other than Yugi, Pharaoh?" There had to be a catch; there always was. Atem still had yet to lose to anyone except his Aibou. But it was nonetheless amusing to see him frown at the assumption.

"They neglected to inform me that it was the winner of the game that would not be drinking."

Seto huffed a laugh at that. If the stories he had heard about the last time the gang had accidentally gotten the lightweight Atem drunk were true, then Seto wasn't surprised at the precaution. How unfortunate that he hadn't been there to witness that particular event. ( _They had been on one of their numerous breaks at the time._ )

He still hadn't managed to read a single article in his paper, but he continued the farce while finishing up his coffee. At the other end of the table, Atem took an experimental sip from his own cup and made a face, immediately leaving in search of sugar.

"I can't tell if you honestly cannot remember how I take my coffee or if you are purposely forgetting," he commented crossly as he passed by on his way to dump unholy amounts of sweetener into his drink.

"Hn. Who said it was for you?" Atem didn't even deign that obvious goad with a response.

There were a few minutes of silence between them, with just the clinking of spoons in cups, the quiet turning of pages not actually being read.

"You should have stayed yesterday," Atem intoned quietly, as if he were cautiously intruding on a landmine topic. Which he had correctly assumed he was. Atem was a quick learner, and even if he weren't, they had had enough chances between the two of them for him to have caught on to certain patterns. "Mokuba would have liked it."

Seto couldn't help it. The immediate backlash of reactionary words spanned the spectrum from excuses ( _"I had things to do. If something had happened with preparations for today and I wasn't there to fix them..."_ ) to blustering arrogance ( _"Why would I waste any more of my time at a bachelor party I had no purpose being at?"_ ) to defensive, curdling things he would regret later, but be unable to take back out of pride ( _"I don't need **you** to tell me what Mokuba wants! You'd do well to mind your own business, Pharaoh."_ ).

It's the last of these that comes out before he could stop himself, delivered with more venom than he meant.

Seto did not take back words because words were powerful. A great writer once wrote that words were the most powerful thing in the world and that once an idea was out there, it could never be taken back. Trying to retract anything would be unfaithful to one's beliefs and feelings. Seto did not tell lies and he did not sugarcoat truths and he would not do himself or anyone else the disservice of expressing anything less than what he believed in.

The problem was that if words could not be taken back, broken things caused by such words could not be fixed except with more words. And _these_ words were almost nonexistent in Seto's vocabulary still. The times he had managed to swallow his pride and make use of them could probably be counted on one hand.

Atem still hadn't said anything, though from the tense set of his shoulders, Seto had crossed a line. When he finally turned around to consider him, his eyes were blazing, definitely angry now. Seto imagined that this was the face that those who wronged the Spirit of the Puzzle saw before they were dealt righteous judgment. Well, he didn't need to imagine. He knew firsthand. 

Any regret Seto had felt instantly evaporated under the heat of rage that he knew so well. How _dare_ he presume to judge him like this? He had no right!

Atem noticed the change immediately, as he narrowed his eyes and spat out, "I am not _blind_ , Kaiba." Last name, no familiarity. This was battle. This was a duel. Familiar ground, back to scene one. "Something is wrong and I know that is why you're acting this way, but you're insufferable when you're like this!"

Just as wording was not Seto's strong suit, fury did little to help Atem's. Seto stood to his full height, looming and positively bristling. 

"There is nothing wrong," he bit back, flint in his gaze, threat in his stance. He knew Atem hated being directly contradicted. "If I am so intolerable to be around, then why are you still here?"

A vague thought in the back of his mind reminded him that this was wrong, this shouldn't be happening right now, not today; but it was so easy to let himself get pulled into familiar lines and it felt so good to let his temper run rampant, let it burn away everything else that he couldn't deal with, couldn't understand. 

One of them would push too far, the other would rise up in retaliation, the flames would build higher and higher, and the whole thing would come to a point. The foundations would burn. It had happened so many times, they'd both lost count.

They had learned, slowly, how not to make mountains of molehills, but _this_ was not negligible. Mokuba was not negligible, far from it, and no one, not even Atem, was allowed to touch this!

Again, Atem, hands clenched into fists in trying to retain his self-control, was the one to step down and retreat. Pitiful, pathetic, outright disgusting and shameful and _**glorious**_ —

"You don't have to worry about making sure Mokuba appears on time," Atem said, blazing flames replaced with icy discipline as he pulled the door open and let it slam shut behind him.

Seto stood there for a full three minutes feeling betrayed, deprived, wrath crawling in his stomach and licking up his esophagus to singe the back of his throat, wanting to burst out and consume everything in a wave of deadly backdraft. But there was nowhere for it to go.

——

Atem had taken his coffee with him. 

The thought didn't do much to improve his mood, but it provided some marginal alleviation.

——

(Atem had learned how to be a better man long before Seto ever even understood the concept. Shame was a feeling Seto had only recently become reacquainted with. It was hard to remember why acknowledging it was important when it made him feel so bad.)

——

The event was extravagant, of course. Nothing but the best. Yet despite this, Mokuba had asked for it to be a relatively private affair, a modern Westernized Japanese wedding that was currently trending among the younger generation. And who was he to deny his not-so-little brother exactly what he wanted when this was to be his big day?

In actuality, there were to be two weddings-one in Japan and another one in the States. The Hawkinses had insisted that they were perfectly capable of providing for the cost of the ceremony they would be having in America, even though the Hawkins family's impressive assets was nothing compared to the financial empire that was the Kaiba brothers' estate. It was only fair and right, they'd said. Their families would be joined together soon and they wanted a chance to express their support.

Mokuba had looked pleased when Seto had accepted their request to share the costs. That had been worth the reluctance he had felt over allowing someone else to provide for his little brother in a way only Seto had had the privilege and means to since they had first crossed the threshold of that orphanage, hands clasped tight, the only family the other knew and the only family that mattered.

——

Nothing went wrong. Everything went as planned. That made the troubling thoughts worse.

Once the ceremony was over, vows taken, rings exchanged, everything sealed with a shy kiss, then an overenthusiastic tackle-hug from the bride, the gathering of onlookers erupting into cheers, and then dispersed to the banquet hall for the celebration.

Seto had hardly paid any attention to the guests. He only remembered Mokuba, laughing as he tried to twirl Rebecca around like one of those couples in the movies, laughing more when he nearly tripped and dashed his head on the altar. The big grin on his face when the Hawkins family came up to give their blessings, the bashful, but proud smile when Grandfather Hawkins shook his hand and congratulated him. 

Seto gave his congratulatory speech and allowed himself a proud smile for Mokuba's sake, but otherwise stayed away, leaving space for other guests to fill.

——

A shadow was cast over the tablecloth on the recently vacated seat beside him. Seto, distracted from his thoughts, glanced up and saw Atem dressed in all-white, bearing a champagne flute. Atem must have participated in the proceedings before, but Seto hadn't noticed.

Atem had always looked good in black, but he looked unexpectedly remarkable in white.

But then Seto remembered on what note they'd left off on that morning. He grunted an acknowledgment and returned to his quiet sentry duty of the reception hall.

The anger had long since settled, leaving an awkward, residual guilt in its stead that he was unable to do anything with. Atem, it seemed, was content to drop into the seat beside him and silently join him in watching everyone else in the banquet hall dissolve into drunken, celebratory antics, unhindered by any time limit because the organizer of the event also happened to own the hotel.

He could tell Atem was winding up for some kind of talk. Perhaps a continuation of this morning's events. Perhaps something else, though he couldn't imagine what. The aftermaths of their arguments could be unpredictable. 

( _Like that time they had simply ended up in bed together again, the problem ignored._ )

( _Or that time the fight had continued for weeks and weeks, spurred on by increasingly silly reasons, until one of them had called a truce because both of them had been tired of fighting, but neither had been able to admit it._ )

( _Or that other time when Atem had simply disappeared and Seto had stubbornly refused to look for him until a month and a half later when he had finally caved in a fit of insecurity and found out that Atem had gone back to Egypt. Which had led to another fight._ )

( _Or that one time when there had been radio silence for almost a year. Both of them had tried being with other people, but had still eventually come back to each other because there hadn't been anyone else with **their** kind of connection._ )

"You are an idiot," Atem proclaimed flatly. "No, just shut up and listen," he continued swiftly in that same put-upon tone, already having predicted that Seto might counter and silencing him before he could make a sound.

"I went to your room this morning because Yugi didn't come back last night." 

What did this have to do with anything? Seto was sure he'd seen Yugi earlier, seeing as he'd been one of the ones who had prepared a congratulatory speech.

"He and Jounouchi have been together for a few months now. I think they're happy." There was a fond quality now to Atem's voice. "Yugi is happy. So I am happy."

There was a pause, then Atem turned to him, a meaningful look in his eyes. At this point, Seto realized he could almost certainly continue the fight from earlier. There were things he could say that would hurt and hurt deeply, that would give him some short-lived satisfaction as payment for the pain he had been made to feel that morning.

He remained silent.

"Yugi has not needed me for a very long time," Atem said carefully. "But that does not mean he doesn't want me around."

Mokuba. Mokuba hadn't been the little brother who needed protecting in a long time.

"Do you understand?" He did. Obviously. But...

"...Wanting is not the same as needing." If Seto pretended this conversation was not about him at all, it was that much easier. These sorts of conversations had also happened between them a few times before, far in between. Progress did eventually happen, after all. But they were infrequent and still extremely uncomfortable conversations to have. 

_Want_ was a feeling. Feelings were fickle, useless, burdensome things. They could change. They could _**leave**_.

"And 'wanting' was what got you to where you are standing now, is it not?" Atem pointed out softly.

Seto's mind stilled for the first time that day.

"Of course they're not the same," Atem continued after a time, but with a smirk now. "I want you around, but I definitely do not need you."

When he put it like _that_ , well.

"... Hn." There would be time to really turn this over in his head later.

"Good. I'm glad that's finally settled." Atem swirled the champagne he'd been holding and took a sip. Seto wondered how much he'd already had. "Now stop trying to stare holes into the table and go talk to him. He's still your brother. You've been avoiding him all weekend. I'm surprised he hasn't noticed."

For the second time that day, Seto was struck with a realization. There was no earth-shattering sensation or a tilt of an existential axis. But there was a curious numbness he suddenly felt in his hands, the tingle passing in the spaces between his fingers like a slow spark. It felt like absence.

Wanting was not the same as needing. If feelings were impermanent, were mutable, were fickle, then he would not be here. Mokuba would not be here.

Atem would not be here. Atem did not need to be sitting beside him now, providing him with explanations to a crisis he hadn't known what to do about.

( _That time they had skipped making up and instead ended up sleeping together like nothing had happened, Seto had been at fault. He hadn't been able to admit it of course, so the cold war had continued for several weeks until Atem had shown up on his doorstep. Instead of the accusations Seto had been expecting, he had gotten an armful of Pharaoh, who had been sick and tired of having to come home to an empty apartment._ )

( _The time they had fought for weeks on end, he forgot which of them had started it. But again, it had been Atem who had called the truce and stood there, waiting for Seto's insults and sneers at his misplaced pride to end. Then, he'd suggested they order in and they'd spent the evening on Atem's couch, watching some inane movie or another even though neither of them particularly enjoyed it, and nodded off together._ )

( _Atem had been the one to apologize first about leaving. This had been one of the times Seto had managed to actually apologize as well. Atem hadn't made a big deal about it. He had just gone back to moving his stuff back and forth between the office and the mansion, tolerating Seto's work habits and time commitments for much longer than usual before the inevitable blow up._ )

( _After that year, Seto had ended one of his panels at a gaming convention and been surprised to find Atem awkwardly waiting to catch him nearby, no doubt having tagged along to the event with Yugi, the current King of Games. He'd admitted later over coffee that it had been through Yugi's prodding that he had ended up making contact again at all, but Atem had still been the one to break the silence._ )

"I thought you were angry."

He was glad that he had been trained so adeptly at keeping emotion out of his voice. It was hard to describe the feeling that was currently building up rapidly in his chest.

Atem glanced sideways at him.

"I was." He gave a one-shouldered shrug and amended. "I am. But it was painful watching you think yourself into a hole. As usual."

They fell into a silence once more. One that Seto spent deep in thought. There was something he needed to say, urgent words that were suddenly on the tip of his tongue that he had never known he'd had in his dictionary. If he couldn't say them now... if he couldn't say them now, he was afraid. He was afraid they might disappear.

Why was this so difficult?

"...Sometimes Mokuba has a habit of speaking before he thinks." It sounded lame even to his own ears. But Seto pressed on, sensing Atem's confusion, but knowing he would catch on to this new game soon enough. 

"He has a temper that he lets get the better of him. And it perhaps makes it hard for Rebecca to deal with him."

He took a shifty glance to the side, meeting Atem's eyes looking back, a brow raised. He had definitely caught on, looking rather unimpressed, but hadn't said anything yet. A good sign, perhaps.

"So," Seto continued haltingly, exceedingly aware of how roundabout this was. "I suppose Mokuba... appreciates that she... sticks around. Despite this."

Atem was still giving him that unimpressed look. Seto stared resolutely back, waiting for this sort-of apology to be accepted or denied, whichever. 

Finally, Atem heaved a sigh. "Well, good. He better. He's a lot more trouble than he's worth."

Seto frowned ( _was greatly relieved_ ), then remembered that they weren't actually talking about Mokuba. "So why does she stay then? She doesn't need him."

"Were you not listening?" Atem seemed to be contemplating as well now. This new game had never been proposed before. They were exploring new territory again, drafting up a new script as they went along. "She wants to. I wasn't aware y— _he_ could be so self-deprecating."

That comment earned a glare. But there were rules to this, so Seto refrained from rebutting.

"Maybe she started out wanting to," Atem added a moment later, studying the glass in his hand. "But it turned into need."

"That's hypocritical."

"No, it's really not," came the matter-of-fact correction. How infuriating that he could sound so sure of himself. "The bond between two people is a powerful thing. But I learned..." Atem paused, narrowed his eyes, thinking something through before apparently coming to a decision.

"...I believe that bond by itself isn't always enough. Some people want to feel needed. Some people _need_ to feel needed."

 _By others like Mokuba_ , Seto's mind provided. _Yugi_.

The both of them were actually rather selfish individuals at heart. They needed people to need them in order to feel strong, but they were both loath to admit it. They shared that trait and perhaps that was why they so often clashed.

"I think 'want' is probably what creates bonds. But 'wanting to need' and 'wanting to feel needed', that is why someone might stay."

Another lull in conversation, punctuated by a slightly awkward cough from Atem.

"I think I shall leave you to your sulking," Atem said, shifting to move away. "Go talk to Mokuba later."

"Atem." He wasn't done. There was something else. And he couldn't let this moment fly by until he found a way to express it. 

Atem paused, waiting while Seto mulled his next words over in his head, turning them over slowly. He had known the significance of words so much earlier than his peers ever had, but it was the years afterward ( _the years between them—the conversations, the fights, the truces_ ) that had cemented his understanding. This was... important. He had to get it right.

"I think," he said quietly, for no one's ears but his companion's, "I think Mokuba really loves her for staying."

Seto couldn't manage to actually look, but he could sense Atem's confusion at what he would no doubt rationalize as being an abrupt change in topic at first, because everyone would sooner believe that than believe that Seto Kaiba is capable of saying 'love'. Then, ah, the dawning realization. Low-key panic ran through Seto briefly along well-worn thought trails ( _no one to trust, no one to depend on, only yourself_ ), but he suppressed it.

A startling clatter from the side finally pulled his attention back to Atem— 

Atem. Eyes so wide that the light shone right through the violet and brought out the vibrant shade of red that Seto had first noticed in that game they'd had at the beginning of everything, the one where both of them had been less than sane and much, much less than complete. That expression, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, but Seto could easily read the surprise and tentative—

He had to fight to control his own features. Did Atem even realize he was making that face? It might have been amusing if Seto weren't busy feeling incredibly... incredibly something. He'd couldn't remember ever seeing him look like this. ( _Hadn't known he was capable of it, capable of inducing it._ ) It was appalling how much it was throwing him off; how it made him feel like his lungs had grown three sizes and there suddenly wasn't enough air to intake to fill them up. 

They were so far off script, it was ridiculous. How embarrassing.

"S-Seto..." There was a high, breathless quality to Atem's voice. He cleared his throat, looking away for a moment, still as far from stoic as Seto had ever seen him. There was careful consideration on that face now and that was another thing Seto had only recently come to appreciate. They understood the importance of the same things without having to clarify.

"... Seto," Atem started again, voice stronger and clearer, looking him in the eye because stalwart conviction exactly when it mattered was what made Atem so special. "I..."

And because his rival always had to beat him at everything ( _and probably also because the bastard might have been mildly offended at being forced to take the woman's role_ ), Atem was able to say it plainly.

Somehow, this loss didn't sting even a little.

This time, Seto didn't stop the smirk from forming.

"Of course you do." The scowl Atem gave in response was right back to familiar territory, though the effect was rather ruined by how red he was turning. He really did look good in white.

"You're awful," Atem muttered, flustered but intent on composing himself. He crossed his arms, retrieving the flute of champagne he'd hurriedly placed on the table before now that it was less at risk of being dropped or spilled on expensive clothing or tablecloths or floors.

Atem had pointedly fixed his gaze back on the two newly-weds, who were now announcing that they would be throwing the bouquet, some American tradition. But eventually, a hand slipped its way into Seto's.

Something warm was spreading through him that felt dangerously like affection, but could also have been the champagne working its way through his system. Hell, everyone in the room was a little drunk.

The tips of Atem's ears were still red.

And then—since the day had already featured several out-of-character moments for him, so what was one more?—Seto leaned over despite the fact that they were in public, remembering the way 'love' had looked on Atem's lips and wondering how it would taste.

( _Sweet, like the alcohol he'd had, to be honest._ )

Atem wasn't letting him go, having grabbed onto the front of his coat and hauled him back in when Seto made to retreat back into his own personal space. Atem pulled him close enough to growl into his ear.

"You're coming with me. I hope you realize that."

Seto scoffed. "I think you mean the other way around, Pharaoh. I'm the one with the penthouse suite." But he let Atem pull him out of his seat and lead him toward the door.

On the way out, Atem made a detour over to the table where Yugi and friends were sitting to let his Aibou know that he probably wouldn't make it back to their room tonight. Throughout all this, he didn't once let go of Seto's hand.

Seto was feeling like a good sport tonight, so he stood there while Atem talked to Yugi, trying to look bored. The blond idiot sitting nearby made a face at him over Yugi's head, but gave him a thumbs-up as they left the room.

——

Later on, Seto went back downstairs to check on the reception party, leaving Atem asleep upstairs.

Most of the guests had already retired to their own rooms. There were a few still determined to keep the party going, even though quite a few of them were passed out on various chairs and tables. Perhaps about time to wrap things up.

He was reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone when someone draped themselves over his shoulder.

Mokuba hadn't quite reached Seto's height, but he had grown tall enough that it was possible for the brothers to look each other in the eye without much effort.

"Thank you so much, Nii-sama." Mokuba had certainly drank a little more than he should have. But Seto had no doubt that there would have been just as much sincerity there in his voice if he had been sober. "You're the best!"

——

Everything had gone right. And that was just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> of all the prideships i could possibly start off writing, i had to start by writing what is essentially the end-game. this is so ridiculously fluffy for this ship, i'm so sorry. 
> 
> how i wish these two could finally get to this point. i could actually cry. these fucking losers.
> 
> this was the result of a lot of character development. maybe one day i'll write it out so this doesn't seem so unjustified.
> 
> (fun fact: mai and anzu are together. they're at the bachelorette party for rebecca while all the boys are at mokuba's bachelor party. they spend the night dancing and talking shit about boys and giving rebecca the pep-talk about what they hear about married life and what to look out for and here, have all our numbers so if you need help you can call us. some of them also pass numbers to mokuba after the reception for when he needs help dealing with rebecca bc no one can depend on kaiba to give good emotional support ok.)
> 
> (fun fact #2: mokuba is 22. wedding takes place in august, so after mokuba's and atem's birthdays, before kaiba's. i headcanon mokuba as 10 during canon when kaiba starts off at 16. rebecca is canonically 12 in series (using Japanese version's age). this means kaiba and atem are 27 and 28 respectively. they start this on-off relationship when they're around 20, 3 years after canon ends. then they proceed to have lots and lots of breakups and makeups and breaks in general and ????? relationship status for many years, including having relationships with other people in between before coming back to each other. they've gone through a lot of shit and somehow survived it all and this was a long time in coming.)
> 
> (fun fact #3: wishshipping end-game. past peachshipping. said past peachshipping was a disaster tbh, partially bc one-sided revolutionshipping was going on still and partially bc first loves rarely go well, but they're still amazing friends.)
> 
> (fun fact #4: drunk atem is a terror. he goes full pharaoh on people.)
> 
> (fun fact #5: kaiba is actually pretty impressed by rebecca. girls who can code, man. girls who can also duel, man. girls who know what they're doing and won't take shit from him, man. she'll make a fierce addition to the kaiba family.)


End file.
